Hospital resource utilisation from HPV-related diseases in England: a real-world cost analysis

Background and objective HPV (human papillomavirus) is the virus most often responsible for sexually transmitted infections. The burden of HPV-related diseases on hospital resources represents a major public health problem. The objective of this study was to quantify the lifetime economic burden of HPV-related diseases based on hospital resources from the perspective of National Health Service (NHS) in England. Methods Patients' data were extracted, anonymised and aggregated by NHS digital from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) database of patients admitted in 2015 and followed for three years. Data on hospitalizations were identified according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10 CM). Health Resource Group (HRG) tariffs and National Reference Costs were used to estimate the hospitalization costs of anal, cervical, genital, oropharyngeal cancers as well as anogenital warts and cervical dysplasia. Results A total of 19,296 hospitalized patients were included in the estimation model, (39% was male and 61% female. At admission, the average age was 60 and 50 years old, respectively). Life-time costs per patients diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer were 16,911 pound (17,142 pound for male and 16,334 pound for female), penile cancer 12,539 pound, vaginal cancer 12,676 pound, anal cancer 13.773 pound (12,590 pound for male, 14,525 pound for female). Cervical cancer accounted for 12,721 pound, whereas cervical dysplasia for 3932 pound. Resource used for hospitalized patients with anogenital warts was equal to 872 pound (884 pound and 856 pound for men and women, respectively). On average, outpatient accounted for 39% of the total lifetime costs. Conclusion The results of this study highlight that a substantial amount of resources is utilized for the treatment of HPV-related diseases at hospital level in England. These measures have the potential to inform policy decisions to ensure an optimal use of the NHS resources.